(d.1586) These three priests were executed in London, England. They were hanged as well as drawn and quartered for the high treason felony of being Catholic priests. John Adams and John Lowe were Protestant ministers who converted, while Robert appears to have been raised in a Catholic family.
These martyrs were all native missionaries during the confusion of the Protestant Reformation. Two of them seemed to have been targeted for their involvement in exorcisms, upsetting their persecutors both for acquiring several converts to the Catholic Church and for being considered superstitious during a time when the persecution of witchcraft was rampant. Are there times in your recovery when being “Catholic in Recovery” has brought suspicion or misunderstanding? How have you shared your experience, strength, and hope in these moments?
“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give…I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Matthew 10:8,16).
Reflection by Brad Farmer